Amerykańska polityka językowa wobec terenów przyłączanych w wyniku ekspansji terytorialnej
American language policy towards connected area ofas a result of territorial expansion

Summary/Abstract: Even though the English language does not have an official status in the United States, it is ideologically linked to the American national identity. Founding Fathers made ‘a deliberate choice of a policy not to have a policy’, as far as language is concerned. However, unsurprisingly, English became the most common language in the colony and Americans acted as if it were official. It was imposed on the immigrants at the turn of the 20th century (while the contemporary immigration makes the language issue very much up-to-date), and linguistic (and cultural) assimilation was also an important issue as for the conquered and the colonized territories. The article focuses on the American language policy at the earliest stage of the formation of the United States, and the policy towards the restrictions of non-English language use in the conquered and annexed territories (Native Americans, French -language natives of Louisiana, Spanish-speakers in the Southwest and Puerto Rico, as well as the population in Hawaii).

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